Place of birth: Tatum, Texas College: TCU Weight 107 kg | High school: Tatum (TX) Height 1.83 m Position Linebacker | |
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Date of birth: (1987-07-17) July 17, 1987 (age 29) NFL Draft: 2009 / Round: 6 / Pick: 197 Education Texas Christian University | ||
Stephen Hodge (born July 17, 1987) is an American football coach, a former player]. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Texas Christian University.
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Early years
Hodge attended Tatum High School where he practiced football, baseball and basketball. In football he played quarterback, defensive back and punter. As a junior, he earned district MVP honors by passing over 1,600 yards, rushing over 2,000 yards and scoring a combined 45 touchdowns. In his last year he repeated as MVP by passing for 1,471 yards, rushing for 1,561 yards and scoring a combined 39 touchdowns.
He accepted a scholarship to play college football for Texas Christian University. As a sophomore, he was already being considered a special teams standout. The next year he was named the starter at safety for the last 5 games of the season and led the nation in sacks by a defensive back (8).
In his last year he was a 13-game starter at strong safety, which in the 4-2-5 defense was more of a hybrid safety/linebacker position. He finished with 81 tackles and All-Mountain West Conference honors.
Professional career
Hodge was selected in the sixth round (197th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys, with the intention of developing him into a difference maker in special teams. He was moved to linebacker and during organized team activities it was determined that he required a scope procedure in his left knee, which turned into a microfracture surgery that placed him on the injured reserve list.
During his rehab treatment it was diagnosed that he needed to undergo microfracture surgery again, this time on the right knee and was placed on the injured reserve list. He was waived injured on November 11, 2010.